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Hi Tiffany,

The NE has an abundance of camps. Check out www.TheEducationalRegister.com, a free guide to private schools & camps. Specifically for gifted, I suggest your son participate in one of the talent searches. Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) or Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) cover that region (and offer summer institute at a variety of college campuses across the country, not just Durham or Baltimore), and encourage them to test using the EXPLORE or PLUS tests (5th & 6th grades) and then SAT/ACT (7th & up). My kids seem to really like taking these advanced level tests. Students with qualifying scores are invited to a choice of programs. We have only done the Rocky Mountain Talent Search program, but may consider TIP or CTY for subsequent summers. The talent searches also provide booklets with a million awesome camps all over the country which list ages and topics of interest to help you select. Many require that the student is 12 years old, but not all.

If you don't want to go this route, check out hoagiesgifted.com and they have a lot of information or check into the many esteemed universities (Harvard/Yale, etc.) because most of them offer some kind of pre-college program for gifted students.

"So, how was it? Did your son like it? "

My DS11 participated in RMTS Summer Institute in Denver. We did the commuter option, stayed at the hotel for 2 weeks while he took two courses : Introduction to Geometry and Egyptology nad Hieroglyphs. Geometry was from 8:30 till 11:30, then lunch break , then Egyptology from 1:00 P.M til 4:00 P.M. Interestingly, RMTS requires the highest number of points of all the other talent searches (Duke and John Hopkins)in order to participate in summer program. Also, DS11 had the highest verbal and math score for boys in his state that participated in the talent search - it turned out he had the highest math score in his age group for the whole region. I am writing this not to brag but for you to understand the situation as best as possible.
After the first day of Summer Institute, he was OVERWHELMED. He got in the car and started quietly sobbing. The experience was so intense that he just could not handle it and had to cry (he does that easily when he gets overhelmed and thinks that he won't be able to be the best - perfectionism???) I started probing ever so gently and it turned out that math was not a problem but Egyptology was a different story. He did not see any logic to it, he had to learn how to take notes,had to memorize things, most of the kids in his class had been passionate about Egypt for a long time (not my son) and already heard about the info that was an absolute news to my son. I suggested that he might drop the course, but he would not hear about it. He perserveered. Almost every night he had between 2-3 hours of homework plus reading, weekend had been taken by two big projects (one from each class). He finished Geometry first in his class and was one of the best students in Egyptology - his power point presentation on Khafre Pyramid was voted the best by his peers. But was he happy doing all of it? I don't think he truly was. My son has learned over the years that everything comes easily and with little or no effort from him. RMTS Institute was a different story. He had to make an effort, the courses were very fast paced, he hardly had any free time, and being a perfectionist he studied hard because he did want to be the best. I think it was an extremely valuable lesson for him. Yes, he is very smart, but there are others like him out there. Maybe not in his immediate neighborhood, not in his school, but he is not the only one. But at the same time this thought has been comforting to him. He absolutely loved associating with his peers. They played D&D and my DS finally got to play with people that were able to understand and appreciate his efforts.
The instructors at the institute were great, this comes even from my son. And, amazingly, he wants to go back next year......
So yes, he studied very hard and was under a lot of stress for two weeks, but the rest of the summer was totally laid back, travelling in Europe, visiting family, reading, reading, reading....

Wow Ania,
Sound like music to my ears! So glad that you got to be there and parent him through that difficult time - the idea that he wants to do it again next summer says a lot, yes?

Thanks for the details,
Trinity

I was happy to read Ania's description of the "away" experience. I have gone back and forth on this issue. My DH has a real antipathy toward sleep away camps...I don't know why (I knwo he has never been at one...movies perhaps?)Of course my DS9 really would like to do a sleep away camp.I have the same issues with keeping him with age-mates at sleep away camp as he is radically accelerated at school and I am not happy with him hanging out in a cabin/dorm with middle school boys. It is tough enough on him during the day!

I had considered doing the hotel/commuter thing at a few programs. We have family in CA so we visit there alot.I have friends in the Denver area, so that would be another possibility. Any ideas on GREAT commuter programs?I am so inspired by Ania's post (the ups and downs)that I will look into such an option soon.

Another RMTS review:
My son was 11 doing the residential option of Session 2 (I couldn't consider staying in a hotel because it's too expensive and I have 3 other kids to engage in summer activities). He LOVED it. He said it was the best thing he's ever done in his life (and we have given him many opportunities...camps, trips, etc.) He took Economics and Cell Biology classes and worked very hard in both and scored second highest in Econ, and also high in cell bio. His favorite was Economics and the small seminar discussions about complex theories and how they apply to things going on today in the world. He had to really apply himself (first time he didn't breeze through) and produced high quality papers/presentations. The teachers were great.
More than the academics, he loved the other students and marveled at how amazingly bright they were (his roommate would derive equations for fun, one girl was the highest score SAT in Nevada)--my son discovered how cool it was to be smart and how he's not alone. In our town he seems to have to play all that down. He loved spending hours playing RISK in the evenings--when are you ever going to have so many players passionate about world domination together so that there are simultaneous matches going on? He would run in the mornings, and enjoy the afternoon activities (lots to choose from). On the weekends they went to Six Flags, the Renaissance Festival, the Mall (and a movie), Fat City Fun Center. He reported that the food was great, the rooms had mini fridges and microwaves, they were allowed to go to with a group to the grocery store to restock snacks and drinks. He was intimidated about having to do his own laundry, but after doing it once, said it was easy. He called home every night and said he missed us but was LOVING it. My son has had overnight camp experience before but not in a college setting with academic classes. He also says he wants to do it again next summer.
He also came back asking to take a distance learning math course (EPGY) which he's currently doing--probably because of his roommate's influence. I really think the residential program has so much more to offer a kid than commuter--my son said the evening activities and dorm ping-pong games were so great, I'd discourage commuter if they're old enough/grade enough for residential. RMTS is also the lowest cost of the talent search summer institutes (except Davidson's THINK) and I like that you can take 2 classes (many of them only allow you to take one).